History Often Repeats Itself; The Titans Are Hopeful It Will Again

Drafting an offensive tackle in round one, and specifically one who most already assumes will end up moving to guard, isn't a sexy pick in the eyes of most fans. But it could end up as one.

George Walker / The Tennessean

NASHVILLE - If you look at social media as a gauge of the overall fan approval of the Tennessee Titans selection of Peter Skoronski in the first round, you'll likely find an overwhelming dislike toward this selection. 

However, when you break Skoronski down based on more than just the position he might eventually play, or the issues with his less-than-ideal arm length (32 1/4, for those who care), you find a player who, as a freshman, was named second-team All-Big 10, and continued to play at that level throughout his college career at Northwestern. 

Looking at pictures of Skoronski or even watching him on tape, nothing jumps out at you to say he is an excellent athlete, but in fact, he is when you look at his combine numbers and his Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.30 of 10.   

A deeper look at Skoronski shows a player with outstanding strength, footwork, balance, short area quickness, and a high football I.Q. In short, he checks all the boxes from a player standpoint, something general manager Ran Carthon spoke about following his selection. 

So we met with Peter at the combine, felt really good about him. Then our O-line coach, Coach Hoss (Jason Houghtaling) went to the pro day and spent time with him," said Carthon. "Again, the player and the person checked all the boxes for us. So we felt like who he was and what he brings here was easy." 

While I agree that selecting a potential guard in round one, with the No.11 overall selection, isn't sexy, it's also a very safe pick and one that, if history repeats itself, as it often does, could find those fans who dislike this pick, singing a different tune in the coming years. 

It was 42 years ago, during the 1982 NFL Draft, that the then-Houston Oilers selected an offensive guard from Penn State named Mike Munchak in round one. Not only would he go on to have an outstanding career, but he's also now forever enshrined in the Pr Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio and is considered one of the top five guards ever to play the game.     

No, I'm not fitting Skoronski for a gold jacket just yet, so before anyone climbs out on that limb, I'll simply say that some Houston fans in 1982 likely disliked Munchak's selection, which turned out well.  

History often repeats itself; the Titans are hopeful it will again.

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• CARTHON, VRABEL TALK SKORONSKI: The Tennessee Titans used their first-round pick, No. 11 overall, to select Northwestern tackle Peter Skoronski, and general manager Ran Carthon and coach Mike Vrabel talked about the pick. CLICK HERE
• SKORONSKI'S PIZZA PARTY: Peter Skoronski, the Titans' first-round pick, wasn't on stage in Kansas City Thursday night. He was at his favorite Chicago pizza joint, enjoying a slice and a beer with family and friends when he got the call. CLICK HERE
• PHOTO GALLERY: Photos from the red carpet on Day 1 of the NFL Draft. CLICK HERE
• TOM BREW COLUMN: AllTitans.com publisher Tom Brew gives his two cents on Titans first-round pick Peter Skoronski, a safe pick. CLICK HERE